The NASCAR season officially takes the green flag on Sunday with the 2026 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. William Byron enters as the two-time defending Daytona 500 champion, while Kyle Larson looks to defend his NASCAR season championship. Joey Logano is the favorite at +1000 in the latest 2026 Daytona 500 odds, with Ryan Blaney right behind at +1100. Logano enters the regular season coming off a seventh-place finish in last year’s standings. He won the season championship in 2018, 2022 and 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other favorites include Byron at +1300, Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric and Chase Elliott at +1400 and Brad Keselowski at +1700. Kyle Busch will be on the pole and is at +1800. The 200-lap race from the 2.5-mile asphalt track is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. ET. Before making any 2026 Daytona 500 picks or NASCAR predictions,\u00a0you need to see the projected leaderboard from Mike McClure’s proven model<\/a>.<\/p>\n McClure is a legendary professional DFS player with more than $2 million in career winnings. He uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every lap of NASCAR action 10,000 times. All told, the model has nailed a whopping 29 winners since 2021 and hit 11 winners in 2025. Anyone following his NASCAR betting<\/a> picks at their favorite\u00a0sportsbooks<\/a>\u00a0could have seen huge returns.<\/p>\n Now, McClure has turned his attention to the NASCAR season-opening Daytona 500.\u00a0He’s only sharing his best bets at SportsLine<\/a>.<\/p>\n New users can also check out the latest\u00a0FanDuel promo code<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0get $100 in bonus bets instantly at FanDuel if your $5 bet wins<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n 2026 NASCAR Daytona 500 expert picks<\/p>\n For the 2026 NASCAR Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, McClure is fading Logano, who is the +1000 favorite. The model says he doesn’t even crack the top 5, making him a driver to avoid. Blaney was the runner-up in the 2020 Daytona 500, but he has not finished higher than fourth (2022) since, so the model doesn’t love his value as a co-favorite.<\/p>\n Another surprise: The model is high on Kyle Busch at +1800, calling him a top-five contender and giving him a better chance to win than his odds imply. Busch has been a top-six finisher twice since 2019, and he finished last season with 10 top-10 finishes, including fifth in the season finale in Phoenix.\u00a0See which other drivers he’s backing at SportsLine<\/a>.<\/p>\n New users can target the\u00a0DraftKings promo code<\/a>, which offers\u00a0$300 in bonus bets if your bet wins<\/a>:<\/p>\n How to make 2026 Daytona 500 predictions<\/p>\n McClure is also high on two other NASCAR Daytona 500 longshots of +2000 or higher, potentially netting any backer a huge payday. You can only see who they are here<\/a>.<\/p>\n So who wins the 2026 Daytona 500 and which massive longshots could stun NASCAR? Visit SportsLine now to see the 2026 NASCAR Daytona 500 picks and best bets from a NASCAR insider,<\/a> and find out.<\/p>\n 2026 NASCAR Daytona 500 odds, lineup<\/p>\n